Handle or pull for flushing-tanks.



No. 692,l07. Patented Jan. 28, I902.

0. BERNZ. HANDLE .OR PULL FOR FLUSHING TANKS.

(Application filed Jan. 20, 1899.)

(N o M o d e l WITNESSES: INVENTOR M ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

OTTO BERNZ, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

HANDLE OR PULL FOR FLUSHlNG-TANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 692,107, dated January28, 1902.. Application filed January 20, 1899. Serial No. 702,798. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it 11mg concern.-

Be it known that I, OTTO BERNZ, a citizen of the United States, residingat Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Handles or Pulls for Flushing-Tanks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to that class of handles or pulls represented bymy prior patent, No. 344,617, dated June 29, 1886, and such as arecommonly used in connection with a chain to operate the outlet-valve ofa flushing-tank,

the objects of the present invention being to prevent the handle or pullfrom swinging at the end of its chain out of convenient reach, toprovide means of attachment to the wall which shall not inferfere withfreedom of the chain in operating the valve, to provide such supportingmeans which will be operative even when the handle is pulled downward inline deviating from the vertical, to

obtain a neat construction presentinga pleasing appearance, and tosecure other advantages and results, some of which may be re ferred tohereinafter in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in theimproved handle or pull for flushing-tanksand in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the.

tral sectional view of the connecting-link, and

Figs. 3 and 4 show certain modifications of details in the constructionof said connectinglink.

In said drawings, a indicates the wall of a room, to which is secured byscrews 12 or any other suitable means the base-plate c of my improveddevice. Said base-plate-is flat at its rearward side to lie against thewall and is of considerable superficial area, so as to give a firmsupport. At the forward side of the base-plate in the preferredconstruction, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is a globular head (1,projecting forwardly upon a short neck 0'. Said globular head isinteriorly hollow or socketed to contain the spherical inner end 6' of alink f, the shank e of said link extending out from said socket (:1through an opening d at the front thereof. The said link extendsoutwardly from the base-plate and at its extremity is provided withperforations m at, one of said perforations being adapted to receive aring 9, to which the handle proper (marked h) is attached, and the otherperforation providing means for attaching the lower end of a chain z'.Said chain is secured at its upper end in any usual manner to theleverjin connection with the tank It and valve thereof, said tank beingsuitably supported upon the wall a of the room.

The shank e of the linkf is ornamentally shaped as desired, and itsinner spherical end 8' moves in the globular head (:1 with aball-and-socket motion, which is limited by the shank coming in contactwith the edges of the opening d Said globular head, which is preferablyof a separate piece from the base-plate c and joined thereto by athreaded shank d or other suitable means, is cast, spun, or stampedaround the spherical inner end 6' of the link, sufficient spacebeingleft between for play, as will be understood by one skilled in theart. The chain 1' is of such length that when the outer end of theleverj is in its normallyelevated position with the valve closed theconnecting-linkfis held in an upwardly-inclined position, as shown inFig. 1. Thus when the handle 71 is pulled the link is allowed sufficientmotion by virtue of the ball-andsocket joint described to obtain thenecessary movement of the chain.

It will be seen that the handle or pull it is held by the link f againstswinging around and is thus always within convenient reach. Furthermore,neither the pull nor chain is hampered or restricted in its operativemovements, and it is not necessary to pull the handle directly downwardin a vertical direction to operate the valve.

It will be obvious that instead of the balland-socket joint describedany form of universal joint may be used to give the outer end of thelink f the desired freedom of movement, and in Figs. 3 and at I haveshown other modified constructions which I may sometimes employ andwhich I will briefly describe.

The base-plate may be formed with a forwardly-projectin g tubular part0,0pen at front and rear and having its walls converging forwardly. Aconical spiral spring 10 is placed in said hollow part 0, fittingagainst the inner'walls thereof, and to the forward end of said springis attached the end of the linkf. The rear end of the conical springpresses against a plate q, laid in the recess of the base-plate beforesaid base-plate is screwed to the wall, or, again, a cylindricalspringchamber r may be screwed into a threaded socket at the front ofthe base-plate. The forward edges of said cylindrical chamber are bentinwardly to form a stop for the disklike head 8 of the link f, whichhead lies in the front part of the spring-chamber, a spiral spring tpressing said head normally forward against its seat. It will be evidentthat said spring-chamber may be formed integral with the base-plate, thelatter being centrally per forated, and a rear plate be used, as shownand described in connection with the conical spring. I

Other modifications may also be made Wit-hout departing from the spiritand scope of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited by thepositive descriptive terms employedexcepting as the stateof the art mayrequire.

Having thus described the invention, What I claim as new is---- 1. Awater-closet pull comprising a base plate having means for fasteningupon a wall, 0

and forming at its front a joint member, a link or connector forming asecond member and being hinged at one extremity to the base-plate memberby a universal joint, said link normally extending out from thebaseplate and being free to swing in any direction,and a valve-chain andhandle at the other end of said link, substantially as set forth.

2. A water-closet pull comprising a baseplate adapted to be fastenedflatwise upon a wall and providing at its outer face a socket or seat, arigid link having at one extremity a head adapted to lie in said socketor seat and forming a universal joint therewith, said link extendingnormally outward from the base-plate and being free to swing in anydirection, and a valve-chain and a handle attached to the link near itsouter end from the base-plate, substantially as set forth.

3. A water-closet pull having a base-plate 0, adapted to be applied to aWall. and presenting at its outer face a socket or seat, a rigid link e,having at one extremity a ball or head e, adapted to form with the saidsocket on the base-plate a ball-and-socket joint, the

link normally extending out from the baseplate and being free to swingin any direction, a handle at the outer end of the link,

OTTO BERNZ.

\Vitnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, RUSSELL M. EVERETT.

